Bao Yanmeng, Zhou Hui, Geng Fengji, Hu Yuzheng
Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
The State Key Lab of Brain-Machine Intelligence, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
Front Psychol. 2025 Jun 4;16:1579016. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1579016. eCollection 2025.
The burgeoning user base and potential negative effects of excessive involvement in gaming, particularly Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD), demand significant attention. While existing research has explored the susceptibility of individuals with IGD to game-related stimuli, the question of why it is challenging for these individuals to disengage from gaming remains under-explored. Drawing parallels with the concept of interruption, we hypothesize that negative emotions triggered during gaming interruptions would drive individuals' craving for the game and compelling them to continue playing, reinforcing the IGD cycle. In this study, 42 male 'League of Legends' players, aged 19 to 29, experienced controlled interruptions every 3 min during gaming and non-gaming control tasks. Our findings demonstrate that interruptions during gaming elicited significantly higher levels of anger and anxiety compared to the control tasks. Further, we found a positive correlation between the severity of IGD symptoms and the intensity of anger and anxiety induced by gaming interruptions. Additionally, our analysis suggests that craving partially mediates the relationship between anger arousal during gaming interruptions and IGD severity. These findings provide new insights into how emotional responses to gaming interruptions contribute to IGD, offering a novel perspective for future research and potential treatment approaches.
游戏用户群体的迅速增长以及过度沉迷游戏尤其是网络成瘾障碍(IGD)可能带来的负面影响,值得我们高度关注。虽然现有研究已经探讨了患有IGD的个体对与游戏相关刺激的易感性,但为何这些个体难以停止游戏这一问题仍未得到充分研究。与干扰概念进行类比,我们假设在游戏中断期间引发的负面情绪会促使个体对游戏产生渴望,并迫使他们继续玩游戏,从而强化IGD循环。在本研究中,42名年龄在19至29岁之间的男性《英雄联盟》玩家在游戏和非游戏控制任务期间每隔3分钟经历一次受控中断。我们的研究结果表明,与控制任务相比,游戏期间的中断引发了更高水平的愤怒和焦虑。此外,我们发现IGD症状的严重程度与游戏中断引发的愤怒和焦虑强度之间存在正相关。此外,我们的分析表明,渴望在一定程度上介导了游戏中断期间愤怒唤起与IGD严重程度之间的关系。这些发现为游戏中断的情绪反应如何导致IGD提供了新的见解,为未来的研究和潜在的治疗方法提供了新的视角。